bob m

Excuse me for posting on 2 forums (A4 and Allroad) but they are similar enough for my impressions to (hopefully) be of value.

So, yesterday morning we are driving to Saugerties NY to visit my brother vis Garden State Pkwy and NYS Thruway. All in all about a hundred mile drive - 95 of which are the Pkwy and Thruway, thankfully.
Couple of thoughts.

When starting out I see a nice shiny A4 on my left - passing us by - but they were also checking out my Allroad. Well, one second later, I realize that they are also in a 2017 Allroad and I'm guessing checking out mine because 2017 Allroads are so relatively rare. Perhaps they were also checking out the Gotland Green, which I think may be a more unique color than their Brilliant or Mythos black. BTW, my 19 year old daughter doesn't like this color - says it looks like a pine tree. I do like Gotland, but a clean black car is more of a stunner. On another note, on my A4, I had no intention of putting a front plate on - unless I got a ticket, as the USA plates really destroys that clean front grill look. Front plates don't look bad on the Allroad though. And the other Allroad had NY plates which are sort of an orange color - which kind of compliments the black. I'm guessing the NY light yellow plates won't clash with the Gotland Green - I know, even silly to mention plate colors and cars.

After about 10 miles or so, my wife commented how this Allroad was more comfortable than my 2017 Allroad. I'm guessing a function of the larger tires, more weight and slightly different suspension. I would agree with her - especially going over less than perfect roads and potholes in NYC and NE NJ almost every day. Which was another reason I traded in for the Allroad. Oh, yeah - forgot to mention that the sport seats were very comfortable, though as I remember, not as comfortable as the seats on my Macan.

Traffic going there was light to sometimes moderate and I was using ACC for most of the entire ride and it was impressive - keeps up with traffic, maintains a set distance and slows down when needed - it's a safety feature as much as a convenience feature and would never consider getting a new car w/o it. We had 3 people in the car and the car had tons of pickup, was as quiet as I could ever expect and though glitchy at times, the sound (mostly) via Car Play was incredible. Once at my brother's I used a waterless car wash (Ultima) to clean her up and did notice that the coating I had gotten applied made cleanup incredibly fast. Took all of 15 minutes to finish. As noted many times Gotland Green looks different depending on the light and outdoors is a way more subdued and lighter green than showing in my indoor avatar. So, those considering GG, be aware.

On the ride home in the afternoon, the traffic was mostly moderate, never too heavy - averaging 65-75, but it did cross my mind even with ACC, Pre Sense and all the other safety features, that with all those cars on the road doing 65-80 and keeping mostly a distance of only a few car lengths between each other, it doesn't take much to go wrong for an accident to occur. Distance and diligence goes a long way in keeping you safe.

The windshield glass - I'm not sure how to describe it, but the windshield seemed to"disperse?" the light lights from oncoming cars, hindering vision. I will be claying, polishing and sealing the windshield later today in hopes that that will take care of that issue.

Finally. all things considered, I am not going out on a limb to say it, but Audi hit a home run and this 2017 A4 Allroad is the best car I ever leased/bought and I think the 2017 A4 sedan a close second.

Psy Wagon

Just wish they offered more engine options here in the US!

bob m

I hear that, but since they sell so few Allroads here, I'm guessing the sales numbers would dictate against offering different engines.

eric_p

bob_m, when you had the Allroad Xpel'ed and coated did they apply anything to the windows? I'm looking at coating my incoming (~2 weeks left to wait [fingers crossed]) Allroad with a Ceramic Pro package and they apply a "Rain" product to the all the windows.

bob m

As mentioned, the guy who applied the coating said he put the Nanolex over the windshield. I'm sure he washed the windshield, maybe even polished and clayed it prior, not sure. But I will wash, polish, clay and seal it myself later today. I had very good results on my Q5 and A4 doing just that. I happen to have used and like Griot's Glass sealant on them. https://www.griotsgarage.com/product...fType=&from=fn

rrwood

I too am impressed with both the quiet and smoothness of the ride. Pretty zippy and nice handling also. I love the varying hues of my Gotland Green in different lighting situations. The exclusivity of the allroad is a plus. I have yet to see another on the road.

roger_1

Thanks for posting your experience with the new Allroad.

The paragraph above confused me. You said the 2017 Allroad is more comfortable than your 2017 Allroad. I'm guessing that was a typo. What had you intended to compare with the ride of the 2017 Allroad? I'm guessing a less recent A4, but that's just a guess - you mentioned more weight, which is true going from an A4 sedan, but I don't think that's the case when moving from a B8 Allroad to a B9.

You also mentioned that "the sports seats were very comfortable". Are you referring to sports seats in the B9 Allroad, or your previous vehicle.

I'm asking these questions not out of idle curiosity, but because I have a superb B8 Allroad, which I'm thinking of trading in for a B9 Allroad.

Thanks.

blorzoga

He meant an 2017 A4 that he traded in for an Allroad. Apparently he doesn't keep cars for very long.

bob m

Sorry for the confusion, Borzaga is right about not keeping cars too long- well at least recently and friends and family think I'm nuts for doing that and can't say they are far off base. But had the Allroad been available when I bought my 2017 A4 (yes, that is the car I meant to mention in my initial post) I would have bought that one. And I have said this before - buying/swapping out cars so quickly is a huge financial hit. Though my A4 was incredible, I felt that the Allroad would meet the things I found lacking or at least not up to snuff. Larger, more comfortable tires driving on less than perfect NYC streets and some light backroading, more trunk space, slightly greater height ~1.5" - better snow clearance, etc.I had sport seats in my last A4 as well as my Macan and Q5 and would not get a car without them.
Having said all that, the Allroad (barring some type of bad accident or it somehow develops issues that can't be fixed) will be the car I own for a very long time.

Fantasiamon

Is yours the Gotland Green that Open Road had in the city for a while? I took a bunch of pix when it was in the showroom. Liked the color a lot. Unique. Also, saw my first B9 Allroad on city streets yesterday. Someone was driving up Madison with a Silver B9 Allroad with a Roof Box mounted on top.

Jm in ordering a 2018 this summer when the order sheet comes out. Any options you do or don't like/recommend?